Category: Family

Cracker Nights

This past weekend we had four nights of fireworks. It was fantastic πŸ™‚

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We had an irresponsibly large amount of crackers – the above shot was Saturday nights haul only – running the gamut from tiny little things (‘crazy jacks’) to massive fountains that ran for over 3 minutes. We had also driven to Pennsylvania to buy some launchers, which are not legal in NY state.

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It took hours to set them all off – over four nights – and we still have more left! Others were doing the same, and the noises of booms and crackles were heard around. Even so we may have upset the neighbour slightly, since we thought they yelled at us after we set off a particularly loud and bombastic launcher!

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By the third day I was up to my usual tricks, slightly ‘modifying’ the fireworks for dramatic effect. Here’s 15 little guys I taped into 5 groups of 3 and lit simultaneously for a large group explosion:

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A lovely photo of the ‘Coral Reef’ in action, which we all agreed was the most magnificent fountain (and which cost $50!):

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Here’s a video of one of the more boistrous fountains going off. I’ll admit i was a bit scared during this tumult, since I didn’t know what it would do (true for all the fireworks; the descriptions on the packaging are vague enough to be useless) and found myself standing perhaps a little too close:

And lastly, a video I made on my phone editing together highlights from many of the different types we lit:

As you can tell, much fun was had by all πŸ™‚

Fire In The Sky

It’s almost July 4 and once again fireworks are back in stores. Last year was the first time they were sold here in NY in many years and we had a great time setting them off. This year the selection is incredible… and we’ve invested heavily!

That’s the haul so far. I don’t want to calculate how much we’ve spent already but I think we’ve layed the groundwork for two fireworks shows to celebrate JAF’s birthday in a little over a week πŸ™‚

We’ve got big ones and small ones and sparklers and cracklers and smoke bombs and even a frog! Still no launchers though; they’re still not legal here. We’d have to drive to Pennsylvania to buy some of those…

That’s the biggest we’ve got so far. It cost $25, stands about a foot tall and judging by the disco ball in the art will probably dazzle us with holograms and shooting stars and maybe silhouettes of dancers made of living fire! The little guy next to it was only $2 and is similar to most of what we had last year. We’ve upgraded πŸ™‚

This is a two pack: “Rocketman vs Rage Monster”. They’re both quite large, and (again) judging by the art I’m expecting cybernetic warriors made of flaming smoke and a terrifying monster radiating purple fire and bellowing curses from the deepest pits of Gehenna!

We accidentally bought two of these two packs. So double everything I just said πŸ™‚

This is the most expensive one we have so far, at $35. It’s a large fanning fountain, which means the showers of sparks will not just go up but also out to the sides. If I position it carefully in KLS’s parents backyard I may be able to incinerate trees on both sides simultaneously!

It’ll be a night we’ll never forget!

Sparkzilla. Sparkzilla! I don’t know who named this but he was a genius. Although fairly large in my hand, this isn’t even in the top five of biggest fireworks I’m waiting to ignite. But it has to be the best, based solely on that name: Sparkzilla!

Im expecting a titan of ash and cinders rising out of this box, trumpeting with the joy of freedom as it mercilessly rains destruction down upon us. I wish you could be there to see it!

And then we have the ‘Fiery Frog’. Like a green Pac Man from hell, this one boasts of glowing mouth and eyes as the purifying flames issue from its head. I’ve never seen anything like this and cannot wait to set it on fire.

That’s just a portion of what we have so far. And I don’t doubt there’s more to come. Yes it will all – quite literally – go up in smoke, but watching it happen is going to be glorious!

San Jose

I’ve spent the last several days in San Jose with B and L. The time has been filled with stuff like this:

And this:

And even a bit of this:

We traveled far and saw a lot this trip, and it was good πŸ™‚

I’ll sign out with some wise comments from aΒ random used-bookstore cat

…who says: “Next time spend two nights in Death Valley!